Prophets, Pahwraiths, Emissaries, and Reckonings
by bluegoldrose
Summary: Why do the Prophets need the Sisko? Why did the Reckoning fail? What happened when Dukat fell into the fire caves? The one who knows is the one who chose to be neither a Prophet nor a Pahwraith.
1. Enter Anareth

_The following story takes place some time after the DS9 book Unity. (Making this story take place during year nine of the show.) If you don't read the books all you need to know for this story is the following: Bajor is part of the Federation so all the Bajoran officers are Starfleet officers. Ben Sisko has returned and is living on Bajor with Kassidy and their daughter Rebecca. He is no longer in Starfleet. All of the Bajoran orbs have been returned to Bajor. If you do read the books some things have been changed, but not too much._

_This was inspired by the DS9 book Millennium._

* * *

In all things that are nonlinear we must conclude that there is an aspect of the linear, that which has no time corresponds equally with that which has time. Like a Möbius strip or two snakes that bite each other's tails causing an eternal ring that would end if either let go. So it was with my existence both being linear and nonlinear at the same time eternal and ephemeral. It all makes sense with this simple formula: T (equals) infinity (equals) Ω. It makes little sense that time is equal to infinity which in turn is equal to the end, but that is part of the paradox that makes everything make sense. Though a paradox is something which makes very little sense in itself. 

Life as it is/ was/ will be is always something in my view. My race exists differently than most, we are like an hourglass that is constantly turning so that the time will never run out, but at the same time we are that last grain of sand slipping through. Forever seeing without understanding that which exists and does not exist outside of the Hourglass.

Prophets and Pah-wraiths both the same, and yet both different. Each at an opposite end of the Hourglass. I in the center shifting, stuck and yet on my own course. So this is my story; the story of all that is, was, and will be. The story of how the Sisko became necessary, why the two sides split, and how they will in time rejoin. Of Emissaries and the One True Emissary, and of Reckonings fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled.

* * *

Captain Kira Nerys went to the shrine to meditate like she usually did. It was a surprisingly calm day with not too many problems. "This is the perfect day to relax," she thought as she lit several of the candles in the orb chamber. She then walked to the orb and opened it. Light washed over her body and the Prophets let her in. 

Kira was in the place where few had been, a world of white, where the Prophets light of illumination shone brightest. A figure walked towards her, it was a female. She had light grey eyes and nearly black hair, which again contrasted with her pale skin. She was nearly Bajoran in appearance, but not quite.

"Hello Nerys," the woman said, with the all-knowing voice of a Prophet.

"Prophet, this is an honor."

The woman tilted her head to the side, studying Kira intently; Kira looked down out of reverence. "You do not need to look away, in fact you may find it tiresome after awhile. You are needed for a task. I will explain it to you."

With that Kira found herself in front of the orb again and she closed the doors of its case. Kira turned around and the woman was standing there looking at her. She wasn't as radiant as she had been in the Orb vision, but she still retained much of her beauty.

"You may call me Anareth. I am the one who met you in your vision."

"Anareth, that translates to fallen messenger."

"Yes, that is the meaning that has been given to my name, but come there is much to be said, but not in this place. Lets go to your quarters, that way I can tell you my purpose for you."

Kira nods and then walks out of the temple. Anareth, who is clad in a white robe, follows her. Many of the Bajorans on the Promenade turn to look at her, but she only gazes straight ahead. When they are inside of Kira's quarters Kira sits on a chair while Anareth stands in front of her pacing as she speaks.

"First I must explain to you the truth about my people. You will not believe me at first, but I will show you things that will help you to understand. I am not a Prophet, nor am I a Pah-wraith, I am alone, a third part of the whole. It is my duty to bring unity to the parts so that we will once again rule the realm of Jalkaree together."

"What," Kira questioned out of disbelief.

"Millennia ago, before the current peoples of this galaxy had achieved knowledge of their own lands we in Jalkaree had power. There was a war between two sides, it lasted for eons without either gaining or loosing. When we saw that the beings of this corporeal realm were beginning to grow we knew that our war might spill into their realm and cause problems. So the Pah-jara launched a great assault on the Pah-tala. The Pah-tala were forced from Jalkaree into the linear realm. They found a small planet and made it their home. When the Pah-jara were reorganizing the realm the forced any who had sided with the Pah-tala to leave. They also forced me to leave because I had chosen neither side in their war. The Pah-tala became your Pah-wraiths and the Pah-jara became your Prophets."

"I don't believe you."

"I came to you while you were in an orb, yet you don't believe me. Then I will give you proof. I will take you to the War of Jalkaree."

With that Kira was no longer in her quarters, but in the midst of a battlefield that was nearly impossible for her senses to understand. Red and blue pulses flashed everywhere around Kira, and then she was above it all, she viewed it from the sky of that non-corporeal realm. Prophets and Pah-wraiths, Pah-jara and Pah-tala fought one another within the Celestial Temple, the wormhole, Jalkaree. Flashes of battles that she had seen herself filled in what was too complex for Kira's mind to comprehend. From further back she saw more of what it appeared to be like. An hourglass filled with blue and red lights and in the very center a single yellow light stood, trying to separate the two warring sides.

Kira was alone in the universe at a time before her species had even begun, witnessing the birth of all she had ever been taught to believe. And she didn't know what to do next.

* * *

_TBC..._

_So, what do you think?_


	2. Of Truth

_Come on, I know more people are reading this story, I accept all reviews, even the mean ones. So good, bad, or indifferent, I want to know what you think!

* * *

_

Anareth then came to Kira from the void in which they stood.

"Where am I," Kira asked.

"You are in the realm of Jalkaree. We are at the end of the war, and the beginning as well. The Pah-tala are about to be cast from the temple to your world and I will be cast into the universe alone, but with a mission all of my own. Come, there is a better way for this to be understood."

Anareth brought them down into the Hourglass and it changed into what appeared to be a land like ancient Bajor, but the beings within were those who dwell in the temple and fire caves. Anareth and Kira entered a small house that was outside of the battlefields. Inside another Anareth was standing and speaking with a blue light being in male form.

"They can neither see us nor understand that we are here," Kira's Anareth said. "We are part of the linear realm, they are not. Their view is still too insular to understand."

Kira nodded to answer her, and then they listened to the two Prophet-like beings spoke.

"Choose a side Anareth, the battle is nearly done."

"No, I refuse to do that! I will not be part of the reason our people split!"

"There are only two ways, either you are for the Pah-jara or you are for the Pah-tala."

"It doesn't have to be like that. We can reunite, we can return to being at peace."

"Not now, they refuse to listen. The Pah-jara will win, and we will cast the Pah-tala from Jalkaree into the linear realm. Then the war will be at pause until the corporeal beings understand."

"Why bring them into this? It won't stop our war."

"It may though, think of how they can bring new perspective, we will be able to reunite then. But for now choose a side!"

"No."

"Then you will be cast out with the Pah-tala and they will not accept you either."

"Don't worry, I will be able to help in ways none here can possible understand."

Then the blue Prophet left. Anareth again took Kira to where the Hourglass could be fully seen. But this time it again changed. It was the wormhole, and the red beings were falling from it down to the small world of Bajor. Once all the red beings were gone the single yellow being was cast out as well, and the temple door shut.

"Do you understand now that I speak the truth?"

"Yes," Kira replied.

"Then it is time for you to return until the time comes."

"The time for…"

Kira could say no more, but she was taken back to where she had been in the temple, standing before the orb. She shut the ark as she always did when finished experiencing the Prophets. A Vedek came behind her as she collapsed to the ground, weak from exhaustion.

* * *

When Kira woke again, she was in the infirmary, and Dr. Bashir was standing over her.

"What happened," she asked.

"When the Vedek realized that you had not left the shrine they came in to check on you. He saw you shutting the orb, and then you collapsed. You had been standing there for six hours," Bashir answered with a concerned gaze on his friend.

"Six hours," Kira exclaimed in a frightened voice.

"Yes, and you have been asleep for about eight. Your neural activity was similar to what happened when Captain Sisko was having visions of B'hala. However, that activity has also faded in your brain."

"Am I able to return to duty?"

"If you feel up to it I don't see why not, however I want you to notify me the moment you feel like something is wrong, understood," Bashir's request was also a command.

Kira's only response was a swift nod as she got off of the bio-bed and walked out of the infirmary. Within an hour Kira was back on duty in her office, though she was still shaken from her unusual orb experience. After a few days though nothing came of her visions and life for Kira returned to normal.

* * *

**Four months later…**

Kira's timer woke her up as usual, but this time when she sat up, there was another person in her room. When her eyes adjusted to the dim light she saw whom it was: Anareth.

"What do _you_ want," Kira questioned.

"I told you I'd come again when it was time,"Anareth responded in her passive voice.

"Time for what? The last time we met I was unconscious for over half a day!" Kira sat at the head of her bed, looking at the entity who stood near the foot of her bed.

"I'm sorry about that, it was an unexpected side-effect of direct contact with me. I forget sometimes that my presence causes that. There is no need to worry about it now, I'm meeting you in your corporeal realm."

"What do you want?"

"There is an orb that your people haven't received yet, it is named Clarity."

"There are no other orbs, all of them are on Bajor."

Anareth laughed. "How do you think the orbs got to Bajor, huh?" Her tone changed, and she asked a question this time. "Where do you believe they came from?"

"The temple."

"It's a rather long distance between the temple and the Denorios Belt don't you think?"

"Yes, what's your point," by this time Kira was becoming rather frustrated at Anareth's elusiveness.

"I am the one who placed them there for your people to find. I personally gave the first orb to your prophet Shabren. Before that it was I who made the tablet of the first Reckoning and hid it. I am the one who created most of what your people believe."

Kira stood up, and she tied a bathrobe around herself quickly. "_You!_ You're lying!"

"Why do you not believe me, we met while you were gazing upon the orb of Prophecy did we not? How then can I be lying to you?"

"They call you the fallen messenger for a reason don't they."

"Yes, they do. I was the only one willing to talk to both sides in the war. I still am. The two I sealed for the Reckoning were willing to end the war. Unfortunately it couldn't end then and Kosst Amojan has been causing hate to spread more deeply in the fire caves while peace has been spreading in the temple. I am the one who is trying to maintain the balance."

"Are you trying to say that the faith of my people is misplaced, because if you are," Kira's voice had a very threatening edge to it.

"I'm not saying that at all. The Pah-jara hear you when you pray, so do the Pah-tala. They have a great deal of insight, but some linear things they do not understand. They are powerful and they care for Bajor, so do I. Your faith is why I have come to ask you for your assistance."

"What makes you think that I can help," Kira's voice softened and she sat down on her bed again.

"Because you're an Emissary."

"I'm not the Emissary, Sisko is."

"No, you misunderstand, I didn't say that you are _the_ Emissary, I said you are _an_ Emissary," she emphasized the words so that Kira would understand, she didn't though.

"What do you mean?"

"You were chosen years ago by the Prophet Eidha as a vessel during the Reckoning. They chose you to be one of their Emissaries. The Pah-wraiths also have two Emissaries."

"Dukat and… Don't say Jake, he was the other one who was taken over."

"No, not the younger Sisko, another Bajoran, she has already taken her place. Although at first the Pah-tala did not want her, I told them that it was her destiny, just as you, Dukat, and Sisko had already been chosen. However, none of them are _the_ Emissary."

"Who is it then?"

"That will be revealed at the Final Reckoning."

"The what!"

"When it is time you will understand more, that is all I can tell you for now. However, all will be clear once you have the Orb of Clarity. I will guide you to where it is, however, I think it is time for you to go on duty, I shall return later."

With that Anareth disappeared and Kira was left alone to get ready for her shift.

TBC…

Kyra- In some ways it will be a happy ending for Dukat, but I can't say much more without giving away the ending. Thank you so much for your lovely review!


	3. Paths to Follow

Something wasn't right, Ben Sisko could feel it. _They_ were going to need him soon, which meant that he would have to leave his family again. Somehow though, he felt like it wasn't going to be for as long as it had been in the past, They wouldn't need him for quite as long, the things they had told him were coming would take place soon. It didn't make sense now; being in the linear realm did that. But when he had been _There_ with _Them_, it had made perfect sense.

So in being drawn back Sisko went to the back porch of his home in Bajor's Kendra Province. It was night, and he looked out into the sky, in the direction of the Celestial Temple. It wasn't long before Kassidy joined him. She was holding their infant daughter Rebecca in one arm as she slid the other around one of his strong arms.

"I woke you up didn't I," Sisko said apologetically.

"Not really, I was thinking about you anyway, so I couldn't sleep. You've seemed further away these past few months than you have since you came back," Kassidy said with great concern in her voice.

Sisko looked at his wife and daughter, he felt close and distant at the same time, as if he had never returned to them at all. "I'm sorry, it's just… Something is wrong with the Prophets, they are concerned that something which will happen very soon will destroy them."

"You have to go back don't you?" She lowered her gaze from his face; she didn't want to lose him, not again.

"Yes, but that is something we knew would happen," he took his hand and caressed her face gently with it. Then he brought them closer to himself in an embrace. His forehead pressed against Kassidy, and he told her that it would be all right. "They brought me back to you once, they'll do it again. I promise you that I'll never leave you forever, and I'll be here for Rebecca as she grows up."

"I want to believe you Ben, but it's hard," tears fell slowly from her eyes. "Just tell me one thing, why do they need _you _Ben?"

He struggled for the words that would make sense to that question, because the answer was harder to explain than it was to accept. "They gave me life, and they need someone who understands the linear realm, which is why they created me. It's hard to understand, and harder to explain, but I am necessary for them. It, it's not something that I can explain…"

Kassidy finished for him, "It isn't linear. Maybe this is the sorrow they warned us about then, that they would keep having to take you back to themselves instead of remaining here with your family."

"Yes, I believe it is."

"When I married you I said that I was willing to accept this life, and I still am. I love you Ben Sisko, I always will."

"I love you too Kassidy Sisko."

He kissed her lips gently, and he touched baby Rebecca's soft head. Soon he would be leaving the people he loved, but they would never leave him, because they were part of each other.

Later that week he took a shuttle into the wormhole, the ship returned later the same day without him aboard.

* * *

"You want me to go _where_," Kira exclaimed to Anareth. They were in Kira's quarters again, and Kira had just been told where the Orb of Clarity was located.

"The orb is on Cardassia Prime."

"Why would you put an orb there!"

"The Cardassians are important to the plans of the Prophets, just as Bajor is. It won't be hard for you to go there, since you are a captain in the Federation, which is helping with the reconstruction of that planet. You can even contact someone to escort you there, maybe the man called Garak?"

"Why him?"

"He is a high ranking official in the Cardassian government, and you are already acquainted with him, it makes sense for him to accompany us as we retrieve the orb."

Nerys scowled, but eventually consented. She went to her communications console and she sent a message to Garak saying that in a week she and a guest would need him to accompany them to Ladaic City, which was destroyed by the Dominion at the end of the war. Then Kira set to preparing for her departure.

* * *

Within the dwelling of the Pah-wraiths there was a swell of activity, as if all the beings there knew something big was about to happen. A red being approached the One who was waiting their instruction. "Your task is at hand."

"I will do whatever you ask of me," Dukat answered.

"Good," the fiery being replied. "We do not know it's outcome, but you must win, so that we can be restored to our rightful place within the Temple."

"I will do your will, I will not fail you."

The entity smiled at Dukat. "That has always been our hope. We must continue your training now, so that you are prepared to meet _Their_ emissary."

So Dukat was again taken into the arduous training of his lords, the Pah-wraiths.

* * *

Elim Garak had been surprised that Kira wanted to come to Cardassia, she was one person who he knew never wanted to set foot there. Although she had spent a considerable amount of time there when they fought to free it from the Dominion, and after that to help establish good relations between their two worlds again, he could tell she hated Cardassia. He also knew that she wasn't overly fond of him. He was curious to know who the person accompanying her would be.

He let his thoughts drift to the station for a moment. Julian Bashir was there, and he was the only person in the galaxy who knew who Garak really was, besides Garak of course. Garak had written Bashir a lengthy letter, which was his autobiography. He wrote it to Bashir because Julian was the only person who was just as good at keeping secrets as he was. When they had met Garak thought the doctor was naïve, but when it came out that he was genetically engineered, Garak realized that he had underestimated Julian.

It was interesting for Garak to live amongst the denizens of Deep Space Nine while they had no idea of what he knew. Most of the species that lived there he found a great distaste in, but he could still find some qualities in them that he could appreciate. Even the Ferengi had certain traits that he admired; though he would never admit such a thing. Ferengi were organized, calculating, and had very good memories, all of which were traits Garak found to be positive.

But as the shuttle carrying Kira and her companion landed, he refocused on the task at hand: figuring out who Kira's associate was, taking them to Ladaic City, and figuring out what it was that they had come for.

He recognized Kira; she looked rather tired and slightly older than she had since the last time he had seen her over a year ago. Her companion was strikingly beautiful, in his opinion, even for someone who was not Cardassian. The way she carried herself seemed to suggest that she was very cautious and knowledgeable, even suspicious of others. While he would continue to be suspicious of her, he decided that he liked her. So with a slight smile he went over to greet his guests and take them to their transport to Ladaic City.

* * *

TBC...

Again, I can tell that people are reading this story and not reviewing, it makes me sad : (  
it doesn't take much to review, all you have to do is click the littlebutton at the bottom of the page...

Thank you again to Kyra for your nice review!


	4. Clarity

_The Emissaries were necessary because we couldn't understand the linear realm. Two were chosen from the linear and two were born of the linear and non-linear. Two from the Pah-jara and two from the Pah-tala were chosen as representatives. I sealed two in the Reckoning tablet and two I allowed to go into the universe in search of the ones who would conceive the Emissaries. The Fifth was different though. I on my own searched for the Fifth. The Fifth was conceived from the wars. The wars were another way of showing the non-linear conflict to the linear realm. The Reckonings came about so that we could end our war, and thereby bring peace to the universe.

* * *

_

Kira, Garak, and Anareth walked through the ruins of Cardassia Prime's ruined Ladaic City. Anareth moved swiftly across the rubble of the fallen city. Kira and Gark on the other hand hung back and followed her at a slightly slower pace. Then Anareth ducked into a low doorway, so the others hurried to catch up. They found themselves staring down a tone stairway, which disappeared into the darkness below.

Anareth turned to face Kira. "The orb is below, however only you may descend."

Garak decided that now would be a good time to speak. "If you don't mind, I don't think that's a very good idea. This city has been abandoned since the destruction nearly two years ago. In that time it, along with most other cities, has become a haven for unsavory people. You don't know who could be down there. Cardassians are a desperate people, I wouldn't recommend allowing a lone Bajoran to walk around alone."

"I agree," Kira said, not wanting to descend into the darkness alone.

Anareth looked between them, and grudgingly agreed that it would be fine if they all went. So Garak took the lead, with a palm torch in hand they went down about three flights of stairs into the dark underbelly of the ruinous city.

After traveling for nearly an hour they reached a small metal door, which was locked. Anareth pulled out a golden unlocking device and used it on the door. When it opened she again instructed only Kira to go in, and this time her order was followed.

Kira went inside and there on a small wooden table a cased orb stood. She opened it, and the Prophets spoke to her, not in riddles or elusively, but lucidly.

Half an hour later Kira came back out of the room, her face almost glowing with the knowledge the Prophets had given her. Garak stared at her, pondering what it was the captain might have seen. Kira looked at Anareth. "They answered my questions. They told me why the war and Occupation had to take place. They told me how I was needed, the only thing they didn't tell me is who the Fifth Emissary is."

"That is because I'm the only one who knows who it is."

After a few minutes of discussion, they retrieved the orb and began to walk back to the entrance of the caves. That is until three Cardassian men armed with weapons appeared in front of them.

* * *

_TBC..._

_If you want to read more, review!_

_Thanks Kyra for your support of this story!_


	5. The Light Space

Anareth had feared that the Pah-tala, Pah-wraiths, had sent _their_ emissary ahead of time, but she was relieved that her fears weren't realized. She looked at the men, and assessed them very quickly; they were nothing more than hungry beggars, they would be easy to handle. Each of the three came from a different age group, she noted, one in his late fifties, another in his mid thirties, and the last was in his late teens, perhaps from the same family. She assumed that Garak was already well prepared to deal with the men, his previous experiences with the Obsidian Order made that clear, to her at least. Kira would have been just as ready to deal with the men, had she not been carrying the orb.

Garak did exactly what Anareth expected him to do, of course that was why she had wanted him to come, he stepped forward and waited for them to speak.

"Why are you here, what do you want," the eldest man demanded, making a good show of aiming his weapon at them.

Garak held out his hands in a gesture of peace. His voice was calm and amiable sounding when he spoke, clearly to set the men at ease. "We are here on official business. And seeing that we are finished, it makes sense for you to allow us to continue on our way."

With that, he walked forward a few steps, and the middle-aged man spoke up as he raised his weapon. "Stop! Give us your food. After that we may let you leave."

Garak's lips pressed slightly upwards, a smile, but an almost condescending one. "Well my good gentlemen, if you would have told us that you had wanted food we would have been delighted to give you what we have." With that, he pulled a bottle of kanar and several other food items out of a pouch that hung on his back, and he held them towards the men. With a motion from the eldest man the youngest one rushed forward and took it all from Garak's hands. He rushed back just as quickly, and on his way, he began to eat some of the bread.

The middle-aged man nodded to his companions, and they left up the stairs.

Not trusting that the trio wouldn't lock them in the tunnels, Kira, Garak, and Anareth followed up the stairs as quickly as they could. When they reached the top however, they saw that the three scavengers were nowhere in site. This was a relief to all of them, and after a moment's rest, they began their long trek back to their shuttle.

* * *

Garak had managed to obtain lodging for Kira and Anareth during their short time on Cardassia. The room the women would be sharing was supposedly as good of a hotel room that a person could get on the planet, given her experiences of the final battle of the Dominion War, Kira believed it. The hotel had been constructed as a shelter for all of the homeless Cardassians in the city, now that homes had finally been made for the citizens it was used as a hotel for off-worlders and native travelers. The room was dark, bare, and small. There were two cot-like beds next to each other at one end of the room, a small worn sofa against the wall, a desk with a computer interface in it, and a single ceiling light. One window was in the room, but the view was only of ruins and dirt. There was one bathroom on each floor for all of the guests to use. To get food, one had to walk down the street and go to a cafe. Despite all of that, Kira was glad for the hotel, because as soon as they returned to the capital she went to her room and slept. She had assumed that Garak would do the same; she didn't have a clue what Anareth would do, but it didn't really matter to her either. 

Anareth didn't need sleep, she never had and never would. However there were times when she wished that she could, because then time would go faster; time, such a relative term to a non-corporeal entity. She sat on the sofa and closed her eyes while Kira laid down to sleep. Anareth reached out with her mind into the folds of space, searching for the other minds she wanted to reach. Within moments she was in the Light Space, and she had the attention of the non-linear realm.

"_I know you can hear me, and that you understand what I have come here to say. We have given you consciousness at the same level of awareness that we possess. Now it is time for you to prepare yourselves for the battle. All of you, even the ones who left the linear realm when life in this universe was young. I understand your fears, even the fears of my people who can hear me as well. It must take place, don't fear."_

_From the whiteness murmurs of positive and negative feelings came. Then a figure emerged, it was a male. Anareth recognized his visage, and was curious as to what he would say._

"_Why should we help?"_

"_You already know that answer Q."_

_Q- known for tormenting certain crews- smiled. "Of course I do, but indulge us. After all, we do have eternity to discuss this."_

"_No, we don't, that's my point. All of you, Q, Iconian, Thasian, Organian, Medusan, Zetarian, Nacene, Komar, Traveler, Pah-tala and Pah-jara, and countless other entities know what will happen in the coming days and why. I've told all of you and you have learned for yourselves that corporeal and non-corporeal time are connected! We must have the Final Reckoning, we must unite the realms."_

_From the white another figure emerged, a tall male with Cardassian features and glowing red eyes. "Why must we involve others in our war," Dukat asked._

_Anareth was about to answer, when a deep male voice interrupted. "They are involved because they were always involved. The war we all fight must end," Sisko said._

"_The Pah-jara are correct. Do I have the agreement of every people that when the battle is fought you will help bring the corporeal and non-corporeal realms into cohesion?"_

_For the first time since she had entered the Light Space there was absolute silence, then slowly the voices spoke in affirmation. When they left to their parts of the non-linear realm Q, Sisko, and Dukat remained with Anareth. Their minds all reached out to her with one question, "Who is the Fifth?"_

"_In time all things will be known, in time." With that, they were all gone.

* * *

_

When she woke up she was somewhat groggy and confused as to where she was, it came to her though when she noticed Anareth sitting on the sofa in meditation. The Orb of Clarity had gone with Garak to his home because it was far more secure than the hotel. However many questions remained in her mind, even after the Prophets had cleared up so many of them. Kira was about to think over everything the Prophets had said to her, when Anareth's eyes opened and stared straight into Kira's own. Kira thought that the grey-eyed Prophet-like woman was creepy, mostly because Anareth had a habit of staring at people.

"They told me a lot about you," Kira began. "They said that you weren't completely trustworthy and that you never choose a side."

"I don't choose because I don't have to, I said that at the beginning. You are the second of their Emissaries. Did they explain your tasks to you?"

"Not very well, they said that the four Emissaries are to meet on a day not too far off, and they begin the Final Reckoning. However, before the Final Reckoning can take place, the Fifth Emissary will come and unite the Hourglasses? That part I didn't understand, and I don't believe they did either."

"That's because they don't know, and they don't understand. In time everyone will."

"When!"

Anareth smiled. "The anniversary."

"Anniversary of what?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

With that Anareth disappear, Kira screamed in frustration, and Garak knocked on the door. When Kira opened it, he looked at her with curiosity.

"Where is your friend?"

"Oh, she decided to vanish when she got me mad."

"Oh. Well, if you'd like, I have a transport arranged for you to leave on in a few hours, I thought you'd like an escort to the terminal."

She looked at him with some caution, but mostly friendship –they had become close when living in Mila's basement- "All right," she replied. He nodded with a smile, and then she got ready to leave. Within a few hours, Kira and the Orb of Clarity were headed back to DS9.

* * *

_Within that Hourglass which has been called both a temple and a wormhole all things exist and do not exist. Predestined to be real in one reality and never to exist in another. The layering of all the universes comes back to the Hourglass. An innumerable spectrum of colors from a countless number of orbs all within the Hourglass. It is our home, and yet it is our prison, because we lacked the understanding of that which lay beyond. So in our minds or mind we agreed that the only way for us to understand all was if we understood that which existed beyond the Hourglass. Some feared knowing what lay beyond, and others embraced the task. _

_We were the Progenitors so it was our duty to understand the ones who prayed to us. They existed on many worlds, in all parts of the universe, did we create them? Perhaps. Did they need us? Not always. Did we need them? Yes._

_Oh, the complexities of whether or not they were created by us or if they were part of some vast evolutionary process. It seems so simple to just accept that one or the other is true without examining either for validity, however such things are too complex to explain. It would make a Q laugh for they believe they hold all knowledge, yet they do not know what lies beyond the Hourglass, and neither do we. For I and they have learned that what lies beyond the Hourglass is another Hourglass. The tears it would cause the devout to hear that which I say._

_To make it all seem simple two worlds were chosen: Bajor and Cardassia. They would become examples for us to help explain ourselves. On Terra they experienced similar events as well, they called it the Holocaust. The Great War was just the latest example we made to show what our war was like. So the Federation and Dominion fought until a winner could be found, but it was won because of the sacrifices made by the few, not the many. The tremendous loss of life was horrible, but it was the only way we could show the truth._

_The second Hourglass, which lies beyond my home Hourglass, is the true Temple. I finally have realized how to break through both hourglasses and cause the birth of all knowledge. It is the Fifth, the one born from adversity, the one who was murdered, only the Fifth can cause the true Hourglass, the true Temple to open.

* * *

_

TBC…

I'm so, so, so sorry that I have taken so long to update! I lost inspiration for awhile, and then I was busy, plus I'm easily distracted! I don't know how long it'll be until the next chapter comes, but I promise it'll come!

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!

Kyra- The bad thing is, the chapter 4 cliffie wasn't supposed to be such a big deal.

Stoko- I love Millennium, it's very complex, but enjoyable. When I read the two wormhole thing and the part about the Prophets and Pah-wraiths having originally been one group I was so happy because I had thought that a long time ago!

Chris- Sisko is an emissary, but the True Emissary is the Fifth, and that'll be revealed shortly.

Lilith Kayden- I know that DS9 stories don't receive many reviews, which is annoying, because this story is so much better IMO, than some of my stories with lots of reviews (oh well, such is life).

jrhughes3068- I'm hoping to get more into Kira's perspectives in the next couple chapters. She does seem like the kind of character that was destined to be great.

THANK YOU ALL!


	6. The Orb of Clarity

**_Note_**: I've noticed that the list of beings I put in the previous chapter includes some that wouldn't be speaking to Anareth, because I put a list of non-corporeal entities instead of hyper-sentient entities, but that's because I wasn't looking up every species in the ST Encyclopedia to see what they all were. Oh well, c'est la vie. Also, I'd put the orb experience in italics if it wasn't so long, but because it's like the entire chapter, I don't want your eyes to hurt :)

* * *

_The promise of clarity from looking into the Tear of the Prophet was true to a great extent; however, there were questions Kira asked which weren't answered. As she sat in the transport to Bajor with the orb safely resting beside her, she thought back to her experience in the orb._

Kira opened her eyes in the vast whiteness of the Prophet's realm. Within a moment, the landscape transformed, and she was on Deep Space Nine, standing in her office. Only it wasn't her office, it was Sisko's. Everything about the office was different, the way it had been nearly ten years earlier, and Kira herself felt the way she had then as well. Yet in the same moment that the office was Sisko's, it was hers, and it was Dukat's. Before the paradox confused her, Ben Sisko stood before her.

"Captain," she said quickly, surprised by his presence.

He smiled serenely. "Call me Ben, I'm no longer Captain Sisko, and yet I am always Captain Sisko."

"Or Emissary," she added.

His smile grew. "And yet so are you."

"I'm still not certain about that."

"I didn't want to accept this position, but we have no choice, it's always been our path."

"What is the purpose of this path," she asked as she walked around the office.

"To bring understanding to those who don't understand," he replied enigmatically.

"Who are they?"

He shrugged. "The corporeal and non-corporeal."

"That's everyone."

He beamed and tossed his baseball in the air. "Exactly."

She shook her head, confused. "So the purpose of the Emissaries is to help everyone understand…" She drifted off, wanting an answer.

He laughed and pointed at her with the hand his baseball was in. "That was the lesson that took me the longest to understand and teach. Look around this room, and tell me what you see."

She sighed, growing frustrated. She described the room to him, noticing the differences that were representative of the different eras of the station. During the earliest era, the Occupation, the lights were lower, the air warmer, and the decorations were different. The next era was Sisko's time as captain, with his baseball resting on the desk. During Sisko's time, there was the temporary change when the station was controlled by the Dominion, and she could sense those differences as well. Finally, she could see the office as it existed in the present as her office. Yet she could sense other differences that she couldn't explain.

When she had finished, he asked, "What is important about all that?"

She smiled, but was still a little puzzled. "They all exist at the same time, all the eras, all the differences, they exist as one." She paused, knowing he expected her to connect the pieces of the puzzle. "So, our job is to help everyone understand that everything exists at one time?" The answer didn't make sense to her, but it sounded like the correct one.

"The linear and non-linear are intertwined. Everything linear exists in a strand of time, and there are infinite strands that extend from every moment in time."

"Like parallel universes," she interrupted.

"Exactly," he said excitedly. "In the non-linear realm all the strands exist at the same moment."

"The Celestial Temple and the orbs are the links between the realms."

"Yes."

He allowed her time to let that particular piece of knowledge absorb in her mind, and awaited her next question. "You said that you had to teach that lesson as well as learn it?"

"Everything exists here, but not everything is understood. That's the reason why we are necessary. By helping the Prophets to understand time, they begin to understand the non-corporeal."

"But they know the non-corporeal already don't they?"

He smiled enigmatically at his headstrong friend. "Once it is understood it is known and has always been known. Take for example my birth. Until I came to them, they didn't know that I was necessary, but after they knew I was necessary, they created me. While I existed in the linear realm they hadn't known me in the non-linear realm yet, and yet I already existed here."

She shook her head. "That's a paradox."

"Welcome to non-linear time." She glared at him for a moment, but then accepted his words as they came. "What can you tell me about Anareth?"

"She is different from everyone else. While she is the same race as the Prophets and Pah-wraiths, she exists apart from them all. She helped both sides to understand that the Emissaries, especially those who were born of non-corporeal blood, were necessary."

"We are necessary to help both sides understand the complexity of the dual nature of reality," she guessed.

He nodded. "Exactly, you see, there are many dimensions of reality and many parallel timelines, but they all exist at the same moment in the non-linear realm. Our job as Emissaries is to help the linear and nonlinear understand how the two connect. Anareth isn't completely trustworthy."

Kira raised an eyebrow. "I could have told you that."

Sisko grinned a little. "Not because she is an enigma, but because she knows something about the upcoming battle which she won't share with anyone."

" Battle?"

"The Final Reckoning, which she mentioned to you before."

"She mentioned another Emissary being important to the Final Reckoning."

"Yes, that Emissary is known as the Fifth, and that being is important to the linear and non-linear realms, but Anareth refuses to reveal who the Fifth is."

"So she's the only one who knows the Fifth?"

"Yes, and that is why she isn't trusted. However, there is still much else you need to hear…"

Sisko proceeded to tell her about why many of the events that had occurred in the universe were necessary. He also told her a little more about the Final Reckoning, and the fact that no matter what was going to happen in the Final Reckoning, it was going to happen soon.

* * *

_**TBC**, hopefully soon, but this story is so complicated to write as this chapter probably showed you, plus there are my other (easier) stories to write. I know where I'm going in this, so it won't be abandoned, it'll just take a little while. Thank you so much for your reviews! Especially to who are still willing to stick with it after such large breaks in between updates. _

_Thank you also to the reviewers whose compliments were so completely amazing for this past chapter, you guys rock!_

Lilith- (sorry if I wrote a review reply to you about this, I don't remember if I did or not)  
The thing with Garak is this: in the books, possibly in Andrew Robinson's book as well as in the other after the series books, Garak wrote an autobiography that he sent to Bashir, apparently it was very detailed about all of his dealings during the war. So, other than Garak knowing himself (the person who knows yourself the best is always you), Bashir knows who Garak is. I like Garak more than pretty much any other character in the show, so that's one of the reasons I used him, plus he has a position of authority within the Cardassian government, and therefore would have been a good choice to escort Kira around the planet. Kira and Garak trust each other relatively well from their time in the Cardassian resistance against the Dominion. I didn't intentionally make Garak intriguing in this story, although Garak is intriguing in his own right.


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